MindParlour to open 'IT Finishing Schools'

Kochi, Oct 23 (UNI) MindParlour LLC, a company based in the Dubai Knowledge Village, plans to open a chain of IT 'finishing schools' in major Indian cities to train youngsters for the IT industry, company's Chief Resource Person for India, S K Sharma said today.

Addressing a press conference here, Cdr. (Retd.) Sharma said the ''unemployability'' of Indian graduates, including those from technical streams, was a major problem facing the IT industry in the country.

According to a survey, poor communication and workplace skills and inadequate domain knowledge were the top three concerns of the IT recruiters.

To bridge this gap, the company was planning to start IT 'finishing schools' in major Indian metros and tier-II cities, which would prepare the youngsters to qualify for the NAC-TECH certificate, accredited by NASSCOM, and accepted by major IT companies.

The total IT software and services employment opportunities were expected to touch 1.6 million this fiscal, he said.

The first MindParlour finishing school will be operational here by January 2008, when the first batch of 300 students would be admitted for a four-month course, expected to cost about Rs 30,000.

''Our target is to train 1,000 students in the first year,'' he said.

The course would focus on enhancing the students' communication and soft skills and also train them to work in a multicultural environment. It would also update them on the latest software developments.

The schools at Delhi and Coimbatore would be opened in the next one year, followed by Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

The company was also planning to set up its independent campus at an investment of Rs 12 crore to Rs 15 crore here by 2009, he said.

MindParlour was set up in Dubai four years ago by a group of IT and HR professionals, the company's Chief Mentor Sajeev Nair said.

In the past four years, the company had trained more than 5,000 students in the nine to 17 age group in its kids and teens development programme titled 'Future Kids - Future Teens'.

The company is planning to start this programme in India also.

UNI